The present invention relates to a control arm for a motor vehicle.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
Operation of motor vehicles on or off-road oftentimes involves accidents or improper handling of the motor vehicles by the driver. To date, motor vehicles have self-supporting bodies, equipped with chassis components that are attached to the bodies. The bodies are highly complex structures to protect the vehicle interior or vehicle compartments in the event of damage. When the damage, caused for example by hitting the curb or when the wheels and fenders strike a solid object or another motor vehicle, is minor, high forces can still be transferred via the attachments to the wheels, for example via the control arm, so that the body may deform in an undesired way. Even after repair of this unwanted deformation, the vehicle geometry or the passenger compartment can be restored only inadequately, leading to a higher potential risk for injury of occupants, when the passenger compartment is deformed to a greater extent.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved control arm for a motor vehicle, to obviate prior art shortcomings.